Five UBP ministers resign ending coalition government

Five UBP ministers resign ending coalition government

Five UBP representatives handed in their letters of resignation on Monday to Prime Minister Omer Kalyoncu. This heralded the end of the UBP’s government coalition with the Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-UG).

The decision was announced by the UBP leader Huseyin Ozgurgun following Monday’s meeting of the National Unity Party assembly.

On Monday evening the Republican Turkish Party’s assembly met to discuss the latest developments within government.

Ozgurgun said that the inability to pay the March salaries of public servants prompted them to question their position within the coalition government.

He added that the UBP had decided to withdraw from the CTP-UBP coalition following careful deliberations.

Relations between the two parties had been tense since February, when the UBP had warned it would pull out due to disagreements with the CTP over the terms of the “agreement between the TRNC government and Turkey” on the management of the water conveyed by undersea pipe from Mersin to North Cyprus.

There are rumours that the UBP will now form a coalition with Serdar Denktas’s Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG) and independent deputies.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Omer Kalyoncu is expected to resign after the UBP leaves the coalition.

The UBP last year formed a coalition government with the Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-BG) on 15th July, 2015, under Omer Kalyoncu. The move came after former Prime Minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu stepped down on 4th July, 2015, after losing a party leadership vote in June.

The CTP-BG currently has 20 seats in the TRNC’s parliament, and the UBP has 18.

The Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG) has five MPs and the Social Democracy Party (TDP) has 3, while there are 4 Independents.